While solar generated power is one of the most innovative and potentially earth changing technologies to ever be developed, it does have costs associated with it. Many people do not understand the costs, due to the fact that the sunshine that ultimately is used as a fuel source to produce the power is free. The comparisons to fossil fuel production methods using oil and coal as fuel sources can be made with regard to the final product that is produced, but ultimately the processes are quite different and have different expenses. Within the fossil fuel space, the main cost is the fuel source itself, but within the green energy space the main costs are operating expenses, or the maintenance and replacement of equipment.

Past the point of the electricity itself being created, the costs of transport and storage are the same in both industries, as the product is identical. There is no difference between power generated by burning coal and power generated by solar panels, so in order to understand costs we must look at the production method itself. Even though the costs associated with maintenance and replacement of solar power equipment are high, they also represent one of the brightest areas due to the fact that technological improvement and advancement can reduce these costs significantly. This is where the future lies, in the development of a reliable power source using non-polluting fuel sources that is also cheaper to produce than the competing source. Solar power currently sits on the precipice of this reality, as tech companies like Raycap develop new and innovative methods of reducing these costs.

Raycap manufactures and sells surge protection equipment designed to handle industrial level responsibilities. In the case of the solar industry, the costs are found in damage that happens when lightning strikes the exposed panels, along with the associated surge that the strike produces. The panels themselves will almost assuredly be damaged if directly struck by lightning, so the obvious technological direction is to develop cheaper panels that can be easily replaced when the inevitable strike happens. More costly is the damage produced by the electrical surge that is produced, seen in the form of damage to the connected micro-electronic control equipment downstream from the panel itself. This expensive computerized equipment that is used in the process is easily overloaded by the surge, resulting in damage to internal components and circuitry, as well as posing an explosion and fire risk. By mitigating the damage that can happen to this equipment when lightning strikes happen, costs for the entire process are reduced significantly. Raycap manufactures a technologically advanced series of surge protection devices known as Strikesorb, which feature more robust housings and components, more accurate monitoring of flow and more reliable prevention of surges from reaching equipment. Through installation of Strikesorb products at critical points in the solar power production chain, the overall costs of operation can be reduced to a point where power can be sold to consumers at lower prices than that generated using more antiquated methods. The future of power production is in renewable energy, and Raycap is advancing the industry.